Dear Dougy

What started out as an average winter morning ended up being one that would change everything in Melissa Pierce's life. She went to wake up her husband Dave for their son's basketball game and found him unresponsive. Dave had died during the night and the cause of death was never determined. Melissa jumped into figuring out logistics - planning a memorial, getting her sons to school, moving their family, working a full-time job - but eventually she had to figure out herself. It meant focusing on what she was thinking, feeling, and needing in her grief. That shift to prioritizing self-care ended up changing everything, again.  We discuss How Melissa and Dave met and fell in love  The process of adopting their two sons  How the shock of Dave’s sudden death led to what Melissa calls “Zombie mode”  Being the person who found Dave when he died and how that impacted her grief  Grieving when the cause of death is undetermined  The financial, logistical, and emotional reality of being